Australian company 5B has secured its largest project so far, serving as the technology provider for the solar component of a 95 MW hybrid microgrid for Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley Lithium mine in Australia.
The microgrid, being developed by Zenith Energy, will consist of five wind turbines (30 MW), 16 MW of solar, a 17 MW/19 MWh battery energy storage system, and synchronous condensers, and will power the mine using 60% renewables on average.
The project also includes a thermal power segment comprising 27MW of gas generation and 5MW of diesel back-up.
According to Zenith, during high availability of wind and solar resources, and when the thermal units are offline, the mine could operate at 100% renewables.
Zenith is contracted to supply electricity to the lithium project on a “build, own and operate basis” over 15 years, and will commence deployment of the 342 5B Maverick array systems in June 2023.
The project marks 5B’s partnership with Zenith Energy and the largest deployment of its prefabricated and concertinaed Maverick array systems, which have the potential to save over 60% of the man hours required on site and make the project’s transition to solar PV generation three months ahead of conventional solutions.
Source: RENEW ECONOMY
Image of solar panels at Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant: 5B